do you know what your state bird is? if it's a cardinal or a robin, you are one of the fortunate to actually see your state bird on a daily basis.

last saturday morning, i was on my way to the gym at dawn. the sky was beginning to lighten, but you couldn't see the road unless, of course, you had your headlights on. as i was nearing the end of a hill, something appeared in my headlights, LOOKED UP AT ME, and then...well, it was history.

if you've ever run over something, you know that sinking feeling you get just after that maybe it was someone's pet. the only thing that made me think it wasn't a dog or a cat was that i was sure i saw feathers. it was too small to be a chicken (at least one of our chickens, although i was close enough to home that i half-wondered if it was one of ours...), and too big to be a mourning dove, but i kept wondering if it was a kitten.

on the way home, i approached the "crash scene" slowly looking at the carnage. lots of brown and white feathers (whew! not a cat!), but still bigger than a typical bird. then it dawned on me: i killed the state bird. the ruffed grouse is the pennsylvania state bird, and although i've never actually seen one, it's totally possible that we've got our fair share of them out here in these parts.

why can't our state bird be something like the eastern bluebird or american robin? at least they get out of the way when a car approaches!